31 May,2011 07:37 AM IST | | Kaumudi Gurjar
Sent to who's who of officialdom, letter claims lapses on Ranpise's part in handling fatal Ganesh Peth blaze
A CURIOUS letter has been doing the rounds of the city. Sent to the who's who of officialdom, including policymakers and high-ranking administrative officers of the civic body, the missive demands action against Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Prashant Ranpise for negligence in a recent blaze that killed six. The letter alleges lapses on Ranpise's part in carrying out his duty during a bamboo warehouse fire in Ganesh Peth. The fire occurred at a century-old wada on May 5. Among the dead was a two-year-old girl, who was allegedly denied treatment by three major hospitals in the city.
In the line of fire: Chief Fire Officer Prashant Ranpise. File pic
Inquiry report today
The letter comes at a crucial juncture, when high-ranking administrative officers in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) are supposed to submit their inquiry report regarding alleged negligence in handling the fire before the Standing Committee today.
MiD DAY accessed the confidential letter sent by a person who identified himself as Sachin Chinchwade. The person, who does not disclose his profession, is privy to all the entries made in the fire brigade register.
According to sources, the letter was sent to newly joined Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Pathak, Deputy Commissioner Prashant Ashtikar, Ganesh Bidkar, Ujjwal Keskar, Vikas Mathkari and MLAs Madhuri Misal and Girish Bapat.
Deputy Commissioner (Special) Pravin Ashtikar confirmed having received the letter and said that the administration had taken cognizance of it. The letter writer has raised serious questions on the response pattern of the acting CFO in a time of emergency. It is also noted that despite a major fire incident, the CFO did not inform top officials in the PMC till the morning of the next day. The letter also took serious note of CFO's comments that visibility was hampered because of smoke and said such statements show immaturity on the part of an officer who is heading the fire brigade.u00a0u00a0
Corporator Ujjwal Keskar said that he had not received a copy of the letter, but nevertheless said the matter was a serious one. "I have been demanding for a long time that a chief fire officer should be appointed at the earliest. I strongly demand an independent inquiry into this incident," he said.
10 minutes to reach spot, 3 minutes to return!
THE letter (MiD DAY has a copy) says: On the day of the incident the fire brigade received a call after a major fire broke out at 11.55 pm. The CFO was immediately informed about this at 11.57 pm. But despite that he left the Central Fire Station after 20 minutes, reaching the spot at 12.25 am. The letter goes on to state that under normal circumstances it takes only three minutes to reach the spot, but it took 10 minutes for CFO Prashant Ranpise to reach the spot. He said that another officer Nagalkar was also on the spot but both the officers gave different versions of the number of people trapped in the fire. The letter says that after the fire was brought under control, Ranpise returned to his destination in only three minutes.
The Other Side
Reactingu00a0to the letter, Chief Fire Officer Prashant Ranpise said: "I have enquired with a certain Sachin Chinchwade, who is also a local Shiv Sena activist, but he told me that he had not sent the letter in question. Moreover, there is a government resolution which states that letters sent by unknown persons should be ignored." Justifying his actions on the day of the fire incident, Ranpise said: "For the first 20 minutes,
I was controlling the fire operations over my mobile and was giving orders to subordinate officers. Nowhere is it mentioned that a chief fire officer should reach the spot in the first five minutes of an incident. And I could not reach the spot on time because of the unavailability of a driver." Reacting to allegations that different versions were given by two different officers regarding the number of people trapped in the fire, Ranpise said: "In case of fire incidents, we have to rely on citizens to gather information. That is why two officers gave the varying information when the incident happened." He added that last year he had issued a circular that in case of a major fire all control room operators should inform the PMC top ranking officials after consulting the CFO. "It is entirely their (control room operators) fault that they did not consult with me and did not inform the higher officers. However, I have not issued them a memo," he said.
